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I am a gym instructor living in London and have very little free time

to go to classes but am keen to start As(h)tanga yoga. Is it possible

to learn properly from videos/books and if so which are the best?

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Maureen,

Why do you believe it is necessary to "modify" any of the poses?

I have seen (and taught) many, many "beginners," older people

who have been inactive for years, fat, stiff people who are trying

yoga for the first time, and any kind of inflexible, physically and

mentally stiff person learn and become proficient at the primary

series AS IT EXISTS. The come in and start from the beginning

and they keep getting adjustments in the tougher poses until

they get there. They learn patience. Even going too far in

Ashtanga "modified" or not can lead to injury especially if the

person doesn't have the strength to lift the weight of their own

body which is the case woth most beginners. And usually they

come in with a host of physical complaints as it is. People like

that need to start slowly - 15 minutes of yoga a day at first, not an

hour and a half of "modified" ashtanga.

 

The biggest challenge for anyone is to maintain a regular daily

practice. Just doing sun salutations and finishing poses is

hugely theraputic. Doing them every day, as it says in yoga Mala

and as I have seen in practice, can change a person's physical

and mental nature.

 

Why would you want to encourage a beginner to "learn" from a

tape. It seems to me what you are doing is making a tape for

"impatient people", not "Beginners." A beginner is better off

going to a non-ashtanga class and having an instructor present

rather than trying to learn some kind of twisted version of

modified Ashtanga Yoga from a tape. Yoga classes are

EVERYWHERE now so it would be a rare person in North

Dakota who says they can't find a class to attend.

 

Shame on you Maureen! You have permission to teach primary

series? You should know better!

 

FBL

 

 

ashtangayoga, Maureen Bolton <bolto11> wrote:

> In my opinion, the best book is Ashtanga Yoga by John

> Scott and the best tape is David Swenson's primary

> series. John Scott's book is available through Amazon

> and David Swenson's video is available through

> ashtangayoga.com. It is very rigorous and offers no

> modifications, but he clearly demonstrates and

> explains each of the postures.

>

> I am currently working on producing my own Ashtanga

> Video (I have trained with SKPJ in Mysore and am

> authorised to teach the primary series) with

> modifications so that it is more accessible to

> beginners -we all have to start somewhere. I'll let

> you know once it becomes available.

>

> Kind Regards,

> Maureen

> --- dsan_uk <dsan_uk> wrote:

> > I am a gym instructor living in London and have very

> > little free time

> > to go to classes but am keen to start As(h)tanga

> > yoga. Is it possible

> > to learn properly from videos/books and if so which

> > are the best?

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

> New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

> http://sbc.

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What beginner is "pressing up into handstand?" Please! - no

none does that until after they finish intermediate series and if

they still need to do primary series with "modifications", then they

have a bad, bad teacher. What's a little intimidation anyway? It

never hurt anyone. So what are you teachiing people, that life

can be modified as well when they feel intimidated by a

situation? Everyone is intimidated by things they have never

done before and poses that look like something that doesn't fit

into the reality they have created for themselves. (supta

kurmasana maybe for example?)

 

By the time a person has reached the level of pressing into a

handstand, they ought to know how to walk through a little

intimidation because by then they have done many many poses

that are challenging anf humbling. That is why handstands are

not taught until after second series. If a person does the series

as it is layed out and in that order, there is nothing intimidating

about it. And no one moves on utill they are ready.

 

I'm glad you want to spread the "joy" but it just isn't a valid

argument. Make a video with "modifications" but don't call it

Ashtanga yoga. And if you are teaching handstands to

beginners then you certainly have not learned much in Mysore.

 

If that is your experience as a teacher then I would say that you

shouldn't teach handstands to beginners. You should also

understand that Ashtanga is not for everyone and when people

don't come back it is not a reflection on you. One in ten people

who start Ashtanga are still doing it in a years time. If you want a

more "user-friendly" form of yoga, then teach Kripalu or some

other such drivel.

 

FBL

 

To the others who misunderstood my earlier posting - I never

said tapes were bad or wrong... read and pay attention!

 

 

ashtangayoga, Maureen Bolton <bolto11> wrote:

> Dear Funkybadlady:

> The reason why I feel it is necessary to modify the

> poses is that some of them (pressing to a handstand

> for example)intimidate people and turn them off to

> Ashtanga. At least this has been my experience as a

> teacher. I love Ashtanga and want to share it with as

> many people as possible.

> At any rate, if it is of any comfort to you-my

> modifications are not that drastic. The approach of

> my video is different than existing Ashtanga videos

> and I don't see anything wrong with that.Again, the

> goal is to spread the joy of Ashtanga.

>

> Kind Regards,

> Maureen

> --- funkybadlady <no_reply> wrote:

> > Maureen,

> > Why do you believe it is necessary to "modify" any

> > of the poses?

> > I have seen (and taught) many, many "beginners,"

> > older people

> > who have been inactive for years, fat, stiff people

> > who are trying

> > yoga for the first time, and any kind of inflexible,

> > physically and

> > mentally stiff person learn and become proficient at

> > the primary

> > series AS IT EXISTS. The come in and start from the

> > beginning

> > and they keep getting adjustments in the tougher

> > poses until

> > they get there. They learn patience. Even going

> > too far in

> > Ashtanga "modified" or not can lead to injury

> > especially if the

> > person doesn't have the strength to lift the weight

> > of their own

> > body which is the case woth most beginners. And

> > usually they

> > come in with a host of physical complaints as it is.

> > People like

> > that need to start slowly - 15 minutes of yoga a day

> > at first, not an

> > hour and a half of "modified" ashtanga.

> >

> > The biggest challenge for anyone is to maintain a

> > regular daily

> > practice. Just doing sun salutations and finishing

> > poses is

> > hugely theraputic. Doing them every day, as it says

> > in yoga Mala

> > and as I have seen in practice, can change a

> > person's physical

> > and mental nature.

> >

> > Why would you want to encourage a beginner to

> > "learn" from a

> > tape. It seems to me what you are doing is making a

> > tape for

> > "impatient people", not "Beginners." A beginner is

> > better off

> > going to a non-ashtanga class and having an

> > instructor present

> > rather than trying to learn some kind of twisted

> > version of

> > modified Ashtanga Yoga from a tape. Yoga classes

> > are

> > EVERYWHERE now so it would be a rare person in North

> >

> > Dakota who says they can't find a class to attend.

> >

> > Shame on you Maureen! You have permission to teach

> > primary

> > series? You should know better!

> >

> > FBL

> >

> >

> > ashtangayoga, Maureen Bolton

> > <bolto11> wrote:

> > > In my opinion, the best book is Ashtanga Yoga by

> > John

> > > Scott and the best tape is David Swenson's primary

> > > series. John Scott's book is available through

> > Amazon

> > > and David Swenson's video is available through

> > > ashtangayoga.com. It is very rigorous and offers

> > no

> > > modifications, but he clearly demonstrates and

> > > explains each of the postures.

> > >

> > > I am currently working on producing my own

> > Ashtanga

> > > Video (I have trained with SKPJ in Mysore and am

> > > authorised to teach the primary series) with

> > > modifications so that it is more accessible to

> > > beginners -we all have to start somewhere. I'll

> > let

> > > you know once it becomes available.

> > >

> > > Kind Regards,

> > > Maureen

> > > --- dsan_uk <dsan_uk> wrote:

> > > > I am a gym instructor living in London and have

> > very

> > > > little free time

> > > > to go to classes but am keen to start As(h)tanga

> > > > yoga. Is it possible

> > > > to learn properly from videos/books and if so

> > which

> > > > are the best?

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> > >

> > > New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

> > > http://sbc.

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

> New DSL Internet Access from SBC &

> http://sbc.

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